The Chest
by andsarah
Summary: "March 10th, 1921-The body of city famous French businessman Charles Swan's daughter, Isabella, 20, was found late last night in the harbor of the Hudson River. " Who was she? What did this New Yorker have to do with a boy from Chicago?—She was a secret. His secret. AU Prologue up!


**Prologue**

_Alice Cullen_

I looked down to examine the book in my hand. It was old, covered in dust, and bound barley-there leather straps. The pages were yellow and worn from the years it had been up here.

"Alice, what seemed to peg your interest?" Edward said, his voice was quieter so I assumed he must be looking through things in the basement, "What part of the house are you in?"

_"The attic,"_ I thought to him, shortly after I heard him sigh. I don't think he wanted any of us up here without him. I took my attention away from the book and scanned the room. Despite its great size, it was a cluttered mess. Edward hadn't been up here since, if not before his change, shortly after it. I do know in the duration of Edward's change, Carlisle left him for a few hours to pack away some of the Masen family's life.

A sudden beam of sunlight shined through the window and lit up the once dark room and stopped at the little corner where I'd found the book. I hadn't gotten the chance to dig around in the small chest I'd found it in before the book itself had my interest. Making my way over to the corner, I sunk to my knees and to be safe, and a little considerate, I clouded my mind with recitations of Macbeth in Russian.

Hairpins, a brush, some jewelry, a stack of papers, and two more books were all it contained. Curious, I reached for the front of the stack of papers, eyes widening at the very first paper. The quality of the photograph wasn't good by any means. Black and white with added age over time would have made it more difficult for a human, but my eyesight made it easy.

The Russian was cut short in my mind as I took in the picture. Two faces started at the person who'd had the camera. I recognized Edward immediately, who was leaned over onto the side of the front veranda. Aside from looking younger, he didn't look much different from the way he did as a vampire. He had the same disarray of dark hair, slightly less rugged good looks, and the signature smirk plastered on his face. I let out a small laugh as I took in the clothing my adoptive brother was clad in. He seemed under-dressed with his typical male knee shorts with darker knickers and white shirt next to the girl whom was at the top of the stairs. A pretty dress to the middle of her calf went well with her classic good looks. Her dark hair was pulled behind her head.

I stared at the photo for a few seconds before tearing my eyes away. My brother was standing in the attic entrance way, his expression grim.

"Edward?" I asked, before moving to give him the picture. He just started at it, a small smile appearing on his face before instantly vanishing.

"Where did you find it?" He asked sharply. My eyes flashed to the chest still in the corner.

Not even a second passed before Edward was over the chest, shuffling through the contents as if his immortal life depended on it. Once he found the stack of papers, he quickly tossed many of the sheets aside until he came upon two small clippings from a newspaper.

Edward stared for an entire minute. I'd never seen that concentration in him before. Suddenly, he was out of the attic. The flash of his running followed by the loud slam of the front door made me realize I was now alone. He was gone before the two articles could reach the floor.

Two circled names and times caught my attention in the first article. It was dated September 15th, 1918.

_Deceased: September 11__th__: Elizabeth M. Masen (F, 36, 9:29pm)_

_Deceased: September 13__th__: Edward A. Masen Jr. (M, 17, 6:18pm)_

I looked over to the other article and sucked in a small gasp. It was a small piece of writing, apparently from the New York Times.

**Daughter of Swan Inc. found in Hudson**—March 10th, 1921-_The body of city famous French businessman Charles Swan's daughter, Isabella, 20, was found late last night in the harbor of the Hudson River. Sources say the corpse was badly beaten, but recognizable. Medical tests will be further run to determine cause of death. Charles and his wife, Renee, have no further comment at this time. Isabella is survived by her father Charles, mother, Renee, and younger sister Celeste. Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date. _

Who was Isabella? Why would a New York Times article make him react like that?

I was in a daze of confusion, but I yearned to know more. Quickly, I tossed everything back into the chest, including the book I found earlier, back into the small chest and picked up. Racing out of Edward's old home, I set the chest in the backseat of my car. As I shut the door, I couldn't help but glance at the veranda and wonder.

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**A/N The rest of the story will probably be in EPOV and will be longer. Can we get 10 reviews?:D**


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